“Guitar World” magazine has put together a list of “The Top 10 Drinking Songs of All Time.” Considering the source, it’s skewed toward rock and blues, but it’s a pretty good list.

They gave the top spot to “Tequila” by The Champs . . . which some of you may remember as the song that Pee Wee Herman danced to in the biker bar in “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”. Here’s what else they came up with

1. “Tequila”, The Champs

2. “There’s a Tear in My Beer”, Hank Williams

3. “Whiskey in the Jar”, Thin Lizzy

4. “Have a Drink on Me”, AC/DC

5. “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”, John Lee Hooker

6. “Boob Scotch”, Bob Log the Third

7. “Cold Gin”, KISS

8. “Nightrain”, Guns N’ Roses

9. “Alligator Wine”, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

10. “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers”, ZZ Top

16-Year-Old Shawn Mendes is the Youngest Person of the Past Five Years to Have a #1 Album

16-year-old SHAWN MENDES tops the Billboard 200 chart this week with his debut full-length album “Handwritten” selling 119,000 copies. He’s the youngest artist to have a #1 album since Justin Bieber in 2010.

Reba McEntire earned her ninth Top 10 album with 62,000 copies of “Love Somebody” at #3 . . . Tyler, The Creator hit #4 with 58,000 copies of “Cherry Bomb” . . . and Halestorm rounds out the Top 5 with “Into the Wild Life” selling a career-high 56,000 copies.

Here are this week’s Top 10 albums . . .

1. NEW: “Handwritten”, Shawn Mendes . . . 119,000 copies

2. The “Furious 7″ soundtrack . . . 79,000 copies

3. NEW: “Love Somebody”, Reba McEntire . . . 62,000 copies

4. NEW: “Cherry Bomb”, Tyler, The Creator . . . 58,000 copies

5. NEW: “Into the Wild Life”, Halestorm . . . 56,000 copies

6. The “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack . . . 43,000 copies

7. “1989”, Taylor Swift . . . 38,000 copies

8. “In the Lonely Hour”, Sam Smith . . . 37,000 copies

9. “x”, Ed Sheeran . . . 36,000 copies

10. “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”, Drake . . . 35,000 copies

A Terrible Music Video for a Song Called “I Wanna Be a Duck”.. And You Thought “What Does the Fox Say?” Was Bad…

A bad music video for a terrible song called “I Wanna Be a Duck“ is getting some hits online right now. It’s not clear if the guy who sings it is just trying to be funny, or if he really has a weird thing for ducks.

But he posted another video back in December for a song called “You Weren’t Meant for Me” . . . and that one features some duck footage too.

Grateful Dead Fans… You will be Able to View the Final Show on Pay-Per-View!

The Grateful Dead, along with special guest Trey Anastasio, will perform together one last time this summer at their Fare Thee Well concerts in Santa Clara, California and Chicago. All five shows sold out immediately, but if you were among the tens of thousands of fans who didn’t get tickets for the summer’s hottest concerts, there is good news: The three Chicago gigs will be available to watch live in the comfort of your home (or participating bar, club and restaurant) thanks to a pay-per-view broadcast produced by Live Alliance. All five shows, however, will also be available via an as-yet-unannounced online streaming platform.

The KURT COBAIN documentary “Montage of Heck” features a previously unreleased recording of Kurt playing an acoustic version of the BEATLES song “And I Love Her”.

It leaked online yesterday . . . but it was quickly pulled down for copyright reasons. The track will be included in the movie’s soundtrack . . . along with other never-before-heard tracks that were discovered in Kurt’s archive.

“Montage of Heck” hits theaters on April 24th, and will debut on HBO on May 4th.

An Original “Breakfast Club” Script Has Been Found . . . And Molly Ringwald’s Character’s Original Name Was “Cathy Douglas”

Thirty years after “The Breakfast Club” came out, an original script was found at a high school in Illinois where the movie was shot.

It’s a first draft, dated 1983 . . . and it was given to school district officials to read before they would give final approval to shoot the movie there.

So far, nobody has read through it yet and reported on how it differs from the finished film. But there is one difference they noticed: MOLLY RINGWALD’s character’s name was originally CATHY DOUGLAS.

In the movie, her name is CLAIRE STANDISH. Also, according to some memos between Universal Studios and the school district, the movie at one point had the working title “Saturday Breakfast Club”.

Is Jay Z’s Streaming Service Tidal Already a Bust?

When JAY Zannounced the re-launch of his streaming service Tidal with 15 other big-name artists on stage with him . . . he was probably expecting the thing to light the world on fire. But that isn’t happening.

The Tidal app cracked the iPhone Top 20 download chart two weeks ago . . . but now it’s fallen out of the Top 700. Meanwhile, Pandora is #7 and Spotify is #23 on the same chart.

Congrats to those of you who took part in Record Store Day this weekend, and especially to those who were able to score Foo Fighters‘ Songs From the Laundry Room EP as one of the specialty releases. But as Record Store Day features primarily limited releases, we know not everyone may have been so lucky. Thankfully, Foo Fighters have offered a second chance for those who missed out.

The Songs From the Laundry Room EP is now streaming online after the Saturday (April 18) Record Store Day release. The four-song collection includes early demo versions of the songs “Alone + Easy Target” and “Big Me,” a raucous cover of the Kim Wilde ’80s favorite “Kids in America” and the driving EP closer “Empty Handed.”

Dave Grohl took full advantage of his role as Record Store Day Ambassador this year. He sang the praises of Metallica and their No Life ‘Til Leather cassette offering, set up an in-store performance at a Record Connection in Niles, Ohio, and dug into the vaults for the Songs From the Laundry Room EP.

As for that Ohio record store performance, it went off well with the band leaning on some of the heavier songs in their catalog. The group also played three of the Songs for the Laundry Room tracks in a row, as “Big Me,” “Alone + Easy Target” and “Kids in America” set the stage for the show closer “Everlong.”

Foo Fighters will be playing in much larger venues for the majority of the year. After a Hangout Festival headlining spot next month, the group will head to the U.K. and Europe for a tour before returning stateside in July for the launch of a North American trek. Dates can be found here.

You don’t get to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without taking a few chances along the way, and on April 21, 1992, the Beastie Boys turned a corner in their career with the release of their album Check Your Head.

The trio had long shown their rock influences through samples on their Licensed to Ill and Paul’s Boutique albums, but with Check Your Head, they began to shift more toward playing their own instruments and reclaiming the punk and hardcore roots of their pre-fame days before rap put them on the map. Part of the reason for this was the increasing restraints on sampling that were happening at the time.

In a 1992 interview with Uncut, Mike D. stated, “It’s kind of a drag cause there’s no real established guidelines … You just kind of have to do it and then try to make a deal for it.” In doing so, they ran into a few issues. The Jimi Hendrix estate initially denied a wealth of samples used in the song “Jimmy James,” but later granted the group permission. They were not as lucky when it came to a sample of James Newton who took the group to court over the use of a portion of his track “Choir” in “Pass the Mic.” The band had paid Newton’s label, but the artist was not happy with the situation. Eventually, the Beasties were found not liable for the sample.

MOTLEY CRUE has added 21 more concerts to their “farewell tour.” The new dates are scheduled between October and December. As they’ve previously announced, their final show will be in L.A. on New Year’s Eve.

The new shows will all take place in arenas, so TOMMY LEE will be flying out over the audience on his “drum rollercoaster.”

On top of that, they’ll have something called “The Crue’s Nest”. It’s a levitating platform away from the main stage, which the band will “ride” with select fans during the last song.

NIKKI SIXX says, quote, “We have a ‘B’ stage that goes up about 40 feet in the air, so we were like, ‘Why don’t we just strap a bunch of fans to it?’ . . . We had to build special seats with harnesses and seatbelts, but it’s really cool . . . it’ll be like an amusement park ride.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony went down Saturday night. The televised version won’t air on HBO until May 30th . . . but here are eight highlights:

1. One of the more interesting quotes came from Yoko Ono, who called Ringo Starr the, quote, “most influential” member of The Beatles in a backstage interview. And no, she didn’t mean the most influential SURVIVING Beatle.

She said, quote, “No one is probably going to believe it, but he was the most influential Beatle.” She didn’t elaborate directly . . . but she added that when she came onto the scene, Ringo was the most popular Beatle.

Quote, “John would go up and down and all that, but Ringo was always just very gentle. And he really believed in peace and love . . . he just sort of embodies peace and love.”

She also took a shot at the Hall for taking so long to induct Ringo: Quote, “John got it, then George got it, then Paul got it. So why didn’t they think about Ringo?”

2. During Ringo’s speech, he offered up this helpful tip for musicians in a band: (Careful!) Quote, “If you fart, own up. It’ll cause hell if you don’t own up because everyone will blame everyone else. Make a pact that you’ll own up to it. We did, and that’s why we did so well.”

3. When Paul McCartney was inducting Ringo, he had this to say about the first audition: Quote, “Most of the drummers couldn’t nail the drum part. It was a little bit difficult to do, but Ringo nailed it.

“I remember the moment, standing there, and looking at John [Lennon] and looking at George [Harrison] and the look on our faces was . . . [effing] . . . what is this? And that was the moment, really, that was the beginning of the Beatles.”

5. As we were warned beforehand, Miley Cyrus was there to induct Joan Jett. She gave a speech, which a lot of people actually liked . . . but then in true Miley fashion, she ended up topless, and wearing only NIPPLE PASTIES with “Js” on them, for “Joan Jett.” She was also sporting some ARMPIT HAIR.

6. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters performed with Joan . . . so it was kind of like he was returning the favor for her joining him for a “Nirvana” performance last year.

She did “Bad Reputation”, the Runaways’ classic “Cherry Bomb”, and her cover of “Crimson and Clover”, which she did alongside Miley, Dave, and the original singer, Tommy James of the Shondells.

7. Green Day drummer Mike Dirnt thanked the Ford motor company for, quote, “creating the Ford Econoline van, the best damn van any smelly touring band could have.” They performed “American Idiot”, “When I Come Around”, and “Basket Case”.

8. Patti Smith opened her mostly serious speech inducting Lou Reed with the details of an intimate conversation they shared in a hotel bathroom.

She said, quote, “I found him in the bathtub dressed in black. So I sat on the toilet and listened to him talk. It seemed like he talked for hours, and he talked about, well, all kinds of things.

“He spoke compassionately about the struggles of those who fall between genders. He spoke of pre-CBS Fender amplifiers and political corruption. But most of all, he talked about poetry.”

Muse Is Going to Fly Drones at Their Concerts

The next MUSE album will be called “Drones” . . . so they’re going to have fun with that on their upcoming tour by flying DRONES over the audience.

Singer MATT BELLAMYsays, quote, “We always like to use the modern technology in our shows, the latest video screens or light shows, lasers, whatever is out there.

“Drones are obviously an interesting thing . . . so we’re going to try and do that. There’s going to be some difficulty with red tape of health and safety about flying things over, but the general thing idea is that as the tour starts that we’ll be using flying objects.”

David Hasselhoff has a New Video for “True Survivor”

DAVID HASSELHOFF just released a video called “True Survivor”, and it might just be the most ’80s thing EVER. Which isn’t too surprising, because the song is from the soundtrack to a movie called “Kung Fury”, which is a parody of ’80s Kung Fu flicks.

Not to mention Hitler, a T-Rex, and Thor . . . the Norse god, not the comic book character. But that’s just because the hero in the movie does some time traveling, and he has to fight Hitler.

The song itself is so cheesy, I’m tempted to travel back in time just to insert it into the training montage of a “Rocky” sequel.

Ozzy Osbourne Fires Back at Bill Ward, But Doesn’t Want to Feud

It doesn’t sound like BLACK SABBATH is going to get a full reunion anytime soon, because now OZZY OSBOURNE and drummer BILL WARD are feuding on Facebook . . . like two 14-year-olds in 2007.

Bill tossed around some impressive vocabulary while trying to shame Ozzy into apologizing to him earlier this week. Now, Ozzy is taking a more blunt approach.

Quote, “Wow Bill, what the [eff] are you on about? I can’t apologize for comments or opinions I may have made about you in the press during Sabbath’s ’13’ album and tour . . . physically, you knew you were [effed].

“Tony [Iommi], Geezer [Butler], and myself didn’t think you could’ve done a two-hour set with a drum solo every night, so we made the decision to move on. With Tony’s condition we felt that time was not on our side.

“Bill, stop this smokescreen about an ‘unsignable contract’ and let’s be honest. Deep down inside you knew you weren’t capable of doing [it]. Unfortunately for you, our instincts were correct as you were in hospital several times during 2013.

“So how is all of this my fault? Stop playing the victim and be honest with yourself and our fans . . . Bill, we go back a long way, let’s stop this now before it gets out of hand.” (You can read the whole thing, here.)

Music News April 16, 2015

Take a Virtual Tour of Abbey Road Studios!

Abbey Road Studios is among the most famous recording studios in music history, and while music fans are no doubt familiar with the albums that came out of Abbey Road – the Beatles catalog, Dark Side of the Moon, The Bends, among many others – not many have actually seen the inside of the storied London studio itself. That is, until now.

For Inside Abbey Road, Google has teamed with the studio to present an in-depth, multimedia guided tour through the famed studios by combining the search engine’s Google Maps technology with YouTube videos, interactive exhibits and more.

This weekend, Record Store Day will be flooding music outlets around the country with new releases, reissued classics and thousands of fans looking bring home a few of each. Where Jack White, for instance, is mass-producing his latest acquisition (the acetate from Elvis Presley’s first session), Bruce Springsteen is breaking down his recent Album Collection Vol. 1 box set, disc by limited-edition disc. The full list includes more split singles, old treasures and strangely-colored vinyl than any single person could possibly consume, so we’ve broken it down into a few tidy categories and selected the most essential records in each one.

Slayer, the Replacements, Passion Pit and Chance the Rapper are among the artists that will flock to Boston later this month for Converse’s five-day, multi-genre Rubber Tracks Live festival featuring five different themed concerts: Alternative rock, indie dance, heavy metal, hip-hop and punk. Check out the Converse Rubber Tracks site for full ticket info.

The #1 album in the country this week is the “Furious 7″ soundtrack. It sold 111,000 copies . . . about 30,000 more than this week’s #2 album.

The pop-punk bank ALL TIME LOW debuted in 2nd place with 80,000 copies of “Future Hearts” . . . a career-high for them.

Here are this week’s Top 10 albums . . .

1. The “Furious 7″ soundtrack . . . 111,000 copies

2. NEW: “Future Hearts”, All Time Low . . . 80,000 copies

3. The “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack . . . 47,000 copies

4. “V”, Maroon 5 . . . 44,000 copies

5. “1989”, Taylor Swift . . . 44,000 copies

6. “In the Lonely Hour”, Sam Smith . . . 43,000 copies

7. “To Pimp a Butterfly”, Kendrick Lamar . . . 42,000 copies

8. “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”, Drake . . . 40,000 copies

9. “x”, Ed Sheeran . . . 39,000 copies

10. “Title”, Meghan Trainor . . . 34,000 copies

Here’s the First Teaser for “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”

The first trailer for “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” will be screened at select IMAX theaters on Monday.

A teaser hit the Internet yesterday, but unfortunately, it gives us NOTHING except a quick look at the Batman and Superman suits. The whole thing is only 21 seconds long. The movie is still a year away. It hits theaters on March 25th, 2016.

Def Leppard’s New Album Will Feature Lead Vocals from All Five Members

DEF LEPPARD is working on their first album in seven years . . . and for the first time, this one will feature lead vocals from all five members.

And they decided to do it because . . . well, why not? They aren’t going to sell a million copies of the album no matter what’s on it, so they might as well do whatever they WANT to do.

Guitarist VIVIAN CAMPBELLsays, quote, “We’ve never done that before . . . frankly, candidly, we could go year after year playing our hits. A record for us is kind of a loss leader. A new record is something we do for us.”

He adds, quote, “It’s diverse, but it all sounds like Def Leppard. It’s the best album we’ve made in 23 years.”

There’s still no title or release date for the album, although it’s expected out sometime later this year.

Music News April 15th 2015

Florence Welch Broke Her Foot Leaping Off the Stage

FLORENCE WELCH from FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE broke her foot while she was leaping off the stage during their show at Coachella over the weekend.

She posted a photo of the X-ray on Facebook . . . and said it won’t keep them from performing, but it will cause them to bring things down a notch or two.

She said, quote, “Unfortunately while this heals, my performances will have to be somewhat stripped back. I’m so sorry, I’m pretty devastated, but I still want to do the shows . . . I hope it’s just as enjoyable.”

A Guy Does Impressions of 20 Robin Williams Characters

A video of a guy impersonating Robin Williams is making the rounds online. He does 20 different characters, including Mork and Mrs. Doubtfire, and they’re all spot on. He also kind of looks like him.

“Guitar Hero” Is Coming Back . . . with Live Crowds

It’s been over five years since we’ve had a new “Guitar Hero” game. And that makes sense, because EVERYONE was burned out on it by 2009.

But there’s a new one in development called “Guitar Hero Live“, and it’s due out late this year. One new thing is that it’ll give you a first-person perspective, with live-action band mates, crowds, and roadies.

It’ll have songs by The Rolling Stones, Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The Killers, Fall Out Boy, and dozens of others.

Sunday’s ACMs Will Be the First Awards Show Broadcast From a Football Stadium

“Billboard” has a story about Sunday’s “50th Annual ACM Awards” . . . and it helps explain why everyone’s so damn excited. For one, it’ll be the first awards show to be broadcast from a football stadium.

It’s being held at the massive AT&T Stadium, which is where the Dallas Cowboys play. To give you an idea of how big it is . . . it takes 30 minutes for a tech person to get to the top just to start work.

Stadiums aren’t designed for theatrical-type shows so they had to create their own special rigging for stuff like lights, curtains, sound, and video. They even constructed two full-size stages.

It’s also going to cost a “staggering” amount of money. One of the producers estimates it’ll be four times higher than when they do the show in Vegas.

But here’s the ultimate reason to be impressed. CBS actually gave them 30 extra minutes of precious airtime, which means the show could run well over 3 1/2 hours.

Eric Burdon From the Animals Was “The Eggman” in the Beatles Song “I Am the Walrus” . . . Here’s Why

Do you know what JOHN LENNON meant by “The Eggman” in THE BEATLES song “I Am the Walrus”? It’s a story that’s been kicking around the Internet for a while, but it’s worth repeating.

It was a reference to ERIC BURDON, the lead singer for the ANIMALS . . . because he’d told Lennon about a wild BREAKFAST related sexual experience he’d had.

In a memoir that came out a decade ago, Eric said he was cooking breakfast for his Jamaican girlfriend one morning . . . wearing only his socks.

Long story short, they ended up on the kitchen floor.

Eric said, quote, “I shared the story with John one night with a handful of blondes and a little Asian girl. [And he laughed and told me] ‘Go on, go get it, Eggman.'”

The 10 Best Songs to Make You Sleep, Including a Lot of Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith

Spotify looked through 2.8 million “sleep-related” playlists people created, to figure out what people listen to when they want to unwind and, well, fall asleep.

And seven of the top 20 are Ed Sheeran songs. Sam Smith is next, with four songs, and the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack is represented twice. And of course there’s the old classic “Rain Sounds”, which came in sixth.

MUMFORD & SONS are NOT fans of Tidal . . . JAY Z’s new streaming service. Apparently, they didn’t appreciate the fanfare of all those big artists joining forces like it was “Lord of the Rings” or something.

MARCUS MUMFORDtells“The Daily Beast”, quote, “We wouldn’t have joined . . . even if they’d asked . . . I think smaller bands should get paid more for it, too.

“Bigger bands have other ways of making money. A band of our size shouldn’t be complaining. And when they say it’s artist-owned, it’s owned by those rich, wealthy artists.”

It isn’t just Tidal . . . Marcus doesn’t love or hate any streaming service, he just treats it as the new reality. Quote, “Music is changing . . . this is how people are going to listen to music now . .

“We just want to play music, and I don’t want to align myself with Spotify, Beats, Tidal, or whatever. We want people to listen to our music in their most comfortable way, and if they’re not up for paying for it, I don’t really care.”

He adds that something needs to be worked out so smaller bands can be compensated . . . but he also notes that the Internet has allowed these bands to be heard worldwide without a record label, and the price is giving it away for free.

Are These the 10 Best Punk Albums of all Time?

Punk has been around for 40 years now, and so Loudwire.com has thrown together a list of “The Top 25 Punk Albums of All Time.” Of course, whether or not they nailed it is up for debate. Here’s their Top 10:

“Rolling Stone” put out a list of “The 12 Best Sitcoms Starring Stand-Up Comedians,” and they went with the easy choice for #1: “Seinfeld”.

Here’s the list:

1. “Seinfeld”, starring Jerry Seinfeld, 1989-1998

2. “Sanford & Son”, starring Redd Foxx, 1972-1977

3. “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”, starring Garry Shandling, 1986-1990

4. “The Cosby Show”, starring Bill Cosby, 1984-1992

5. “Roseanne”, starring Roseanne Barr, 1988-1997

6. “Louie”, starring Louis C.K., 2010-present

7. “The Bob Newhart Show”, starring Bob Newhart, 1972-1978

8. “Ellen”, starring Ellen DeGeneres, 1994-1998

9. “Chico and the Man”, starring Freddie Prinze Sr., 1974-1978

10. “Mork & Mindy”, starring Robin Williams, 1978-1982

11. “Everybody Loves Raymond”, starring Ray Romano, 1996-2005

12. “The Bernie Mac Show”, starring Bernie Mac, 2001-2006

Music News for April 9th

All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked

“Rolling Stone” recently dug through all 102 songs in the NIRVANA catalogue, and ranked them from best to worst. There were only 38 songs on their three studio albums, so this also includes the demos album “Incesticide”, the live album “MTV Unplugged in New York”, and other B-sides, bonus tracks, and officially released covers. You can get the whole list at rollingstone.com.

Frances Bean Cobain Doesn’t Like Nirvana, And Prefers Oasis

KURT COBAIN’s daughter Frances Bean is 22 years old now . . . and she definitely isn’t sitting around listening to NIRVANA.

“But [Nirvana’s] ‘Territorial Pissings’ is [an effing] great song. And ‘Dumb’ . . . I cry every time I hear that song. It’s a stripped-down version of Kurt’s perception of himself . . . of himself on drugs, off drugs, [and] feeling inadequate.”

She says having a dad, quote, “would’ve been an incredible experience.” And she does seem bitter about how he’s celebrated . . . partially, because he IS gone.

She explains, quote, “Our culture is obsessed with dead musicians. We love to put them on a pedestal. If Kurt had just been another guy who abandoned his family in the most awful way possible . . .

“But he wasn’t. He inspired people to put him on a pedestal, to become St. Kurt. He became even bigger after he died than he was when he was alive.”

Music News for April 8th

Sammy Hagar Thinks Van Halen’s New Live Album Stinks

VAN HALEN put out their first live album with DAVID LEE ROTH last month. It’s called “Tokyo Dome Live in Concert” . . . and Dave sounds bad.

And SAMMY HAGAR has NO IDEA why they even bothered.

He told the “Las Vegas Review Journal”, quote, “I’m trying to tread lightly on the whole thing. Every time they do something, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, can these guys do anything worse to their reputation and to the level of the music of the band?

The nominees for this year’s Billboard Music Awards are out . . . and Taylor Swift leads everyone with 14 nominations. Sam Smith is next with 13, followed by Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor with 12 and nine, respectively.

Taylor and Sam are competing against Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and One Direction in the Top Artist category. While Sam, Iggy, and Meghan are up against 5 Seconds of Summer and Hozier for Top New Artist.

ABC is airing the ceremony live on May 17th. For the second year in a row, Ludacris is hosting, this time alongside Chrissy Teigen.

Twisted Sister Is Calling It Quits After One Final Tour

TWISTED SISTER got together last month and decided that they wanted to call it quits, after one final tour next year.

Tragically, this came just one week before drummer A.J. PEROdied of a heart attack. Despite that, they’re still moving forward with the plan . . . and adding two shows in the coming months, which will pay tribute to A.J.

The farewell tour will be called “Forty and [Eff] It,” and it’ll feature the core lineup: Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Mark Mendoza, and Eddie Ojeda. Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy will sit in for A.J.

Marilyn Manson Got Punched in the Face at a Denny’s

MARILYN MANSON went to a local Denny’s after performing in Alberta, Canada over the weekend. It was around 2:00 A.M., and sources tell TMZ that he got into an argument with a group at another table.

It escalated to the point where Manson called a guy’s girlfriend the B-word.

He didn’t like that . . . so he PUNCHED Manson in the face.

But Manson’s rep says he was taking a photo with two girls when the guy came up and sucker-punched him for no reason. In the chaos, his female makeup artist also got elbowed in the face. The rep adds that they DO plan on pressing charges.

Music News for April 7th

It’s New Tune Tuesday! <– click here to get all the New Tunes you might have missed.

Grateful Dead’s Fifth Annual Movie Meet-Up to Screen Unseen 1989 Show

For the fifth straight year, Deadheads will flock to their local cinemas for Fathom Events’ Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2015, the annual one-night-only event where a classic show from the legendary jam band is projected on the silver screen. On May 4th, Fathom will screen a previously unreleased Grateful Dead concert from their July 19th, 1989 show at the famed Alpine Valley venue in East Troy, Wisconsin.
This late Eighties incarnation of the Dead featured Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Brent Mydland and Bob Weir, while the setlist boasts favorites like “Sugaree,” “Morning Dew,” “West L.A. Fadeaway,” “Box Of Rain” and “Terrapin Station,” plus a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row.”

Check Out What 30 Bands Would Look Like if All the Members Were Merged Into One

Someone took 30 rock bands and made composite pictures, merging the faces of every member. And the results are pretty interesting. The Nirvana composite really just looks like Kurt Cobain. Same for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder.

The Beatles picture looks like a cross between John and Paul . . . and in Metallica, you can see James, Lars and Kirk.

They also did the Who, Zeppelin, Sabbath, the Stones, Pink Floyd, the Ramones, Aerosmith, Radiohead, Guns N’ Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more. (Check it out here.)

B.B. King Has Been Hospitalized with a Diabetes-Related Illness . . . And Joni Mitchell is Getting Better

89-year-old blues legend B.B. KING was hospitalized recently with dehydration due to his Type 2 diabetes. But his daughter says he’s “much better” since getting treatment.

Last October, King had to cancel the remaining dates of a tour due to the same problem.

He’s been battling diabetes for about 20 years.

Another music legend, JONI MITCHELL, was hospitalized last week after being found unconscious in her home.

We still don’t know what happened to her, but a new message on her website says she’s “resting comfortably” and getting “stronger each day.” Last we heard, though, she was still in the hospital. Joni is 71.

It’s Kiss vs. Motley Crue This Weekend . . . On the Arena Football Field

The battle for rock and roll supremacy between KISS and MOTLEY CRUE moves to a new venue this weekend: The Arena Football field.

This Saturday night, the L.A. Kiss takes on the Las Vegas Outlaws at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The Kiss are part-owned by GENE SIMMONS and PAUL STANLEY, while VINCE NEIL from the Crue is a part-owner of the Outlaws.

If you have a few extra bucks, my advice is to put it on the Outlaws. They’re a new team, but last week they crushed three-time defending champs the Arizona Rattlers by a score of 70 to 53, despite being 19-point underdogs.

The Kiss, on the other hand, debuted last year and went 3 and 15. So far this year they’ve lost their first two games while scoring a league-low 65 points.

BRIAN WILSON has released a new song called “On the Island”, which features SHE & HIM . . . a.k.a. ZOOEY DESCHANEL and M. WARD. (Here’s a video for the song.)

It’s on Brian’s new album “No Pier Pressure”, which comes out on Tuesday.

THE ROLLING STONES have put out a previously unreleased stripped-down version of “Wild Horses”. It’ll be a part of the upcoming “Sticky Fingers”reissue, which is coming out on May 26th.

Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig Are Doing a Lifetime Movie Called “A Deadly Adoption”

WILL FERRELL and KRISTEN WIIG are starring in a Lifetime movie called “A Deadly Adoption” . . . and no, this isn’t a belated April Fools’ Day joke.

It’s being described as a “dramatic thriller” about a couple who take care of a pregnant woman, with the hopes of adopting her unborn child. But then something happens . . . that’s deadly, apparently. Classic Lifetime.

But the “Hollywood Reporter” says this will be, quote, “campy, fun, and a contemporary wink” at Lifetime’s typical trashy melodramas. Word has it that Will is actually a FAN of Lifetime movies, and has always wanted to do one.

Somehow they were able to do this under the radar, because it’s already been filmed and it’ll air sometime this summer. Jessica Lowndes from “90210” is playing the pregnant woman.

After news of the movie leaked, Will Ferrell released a statement saying he and Kristen were scrapping it. But that may have been either a joke or an attempt at misdirection, because other sources say it’s definitely still on.

Music News April 2nd

Who Managed ‘The Who’? The Wild Story of the Who’s Managers ‘Lambert & Stamp’

If you’re a dedicated Who fan you’re probably aware of the two men behind the scenes, Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert. Although the duo weren’t the best managers ever they did their best and finally the spot light will shine on their achievements.

James D. Cooper, who’s documentary Lambert & Stamp chronicles the ups and downs of the pair’s uneven reign, “They Wrote their own rule book.”

The film will hit American theatres April 3rd. You can get more information at rollingstone.com

Joni Mitchell is Awake and in Good Spirits

JONI MITCHELL seems to be recovering, after being found unconscious at her home Tuesday afternoon. Her website says, quote, “She is currently in intensive care undergoing tests and is awake and in good spirits.”

There’s still no word how she ended up in the hospital in the first place. Joni is 71. She survived polio as a child, and also claims to have Morgellons disease . . . a skin condition that some experts don’t even believe exists.

12 Songs That Became Famous After Being Used as TV Show Themes

“People” magazine has put together a list of existing songs that didn’t become widely-known until they were used as the theme to a TV show. Here are 12 of the ones they came up with, in no particular order:

1. “A Beautiful Mine” by RJD2, from “Mad Men”

2. Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help from My Friends” by The Beatles, from “The Wonder Years”

3. “Far From Any Road” by The Handsome Family, from “True Detective”

4. “Woke Up This Morning” by A3, from “The Sopranos”

5. “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” by Cake, from “Chuck”

6. “Superman” by Lazlo Bane, from “Scrubs”

7. “Bad Things” by Jace Everett, from “True Blood”

8. “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds, from “Weeds”

9. “We Used to Be Friends” by The Dandy Warhols, from “Veronica Mars”

10. “Save Me” by Remy Zero, from “Smallville”

11. “Love and Marriage” by Frank Sinatra, from “Married with Children”

12. “Way Down in the Hole” by Tom Waits, from “The Wire”

Judas Priest Is Getting Their Own Coffee

JUDAS PRIEST is getting their own COFFEE, because . . . why not.

It’s called “British Steel.” Dark Matter Coffee out of Chicago created the blend to mark the 35th anniversary of their “British Steel” album.

The coffee will be available on Dark Matter’s website beginning on April 14th, but they’re taking pre-orders now. A 12-ounce bag will run you $18.00 . . . but it’ll come with a CASSETTE single containing two songs, “Grinder” and “Snakebite”.

Music News April 1st

The Rolling Stones Have Announced U.S. Dates for This Summer

THE ROLLING STONES have announced a 15-date North American tour for this summer. It kicks off on May 24th in San Diego . . . and is focused on slightly smaller markets than the ones they hit on their last tours in 2012 and 2013.

Middle America is getting most of the attention, with shows in Columbus, Minneapolis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Detroit, among others. A full itinerary is up at RollingStones.com.

Tickets will go on sale April 13th, although people with American Express cards will get access to them a week earlier.

Steven Tyler Announces Solo Country Album

After months of speculation, Steven Tyler has confirmed the upcoming release of his first country solo album.

A note on Mitchell’s website confirmed that the singer was found unconscious, but “regained consciousness on the ambulance ride” to a local hospital. “She is currently in intensive care undergoing tests and is awake and in good spirits,” read the note. “Light a candle and sing a song, let’s all send good wishes her way.”

Joni Mitchell has been hospitalized, according to the singer’s official Twitter. “We are awaiting official word on her condition and will post it here as soon as we know,” the tweet said.

CBC News producer Leslie Stojsic tweeted that her sources told her Mitchell was in the hospital because of a “minor medical emergency.” “I’m told now she’s resting in hospital and is among friends – a good sign,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to Rolling Stone that paramedics were sent to Mitchell’s home and transferred an individual to a local area hospital, though they could not confirm that Mitchell was the patient. A spokesperson for Mitchell was not immediately able to comment on the singer’s condition.

Jeremy Brown, the lead guitarist in Scott Weiland‘s new band the Wildabouts, has died.

Weiland made a statement on his Facebook page saying he received a call from Brown’s family after the guitarist did not show up at a rehearsal on March 30. The band was scheduled to perform a record release show March 30 in Hollywood for their debut album Blaster, which comes out today (March 31).

“I am in shock right now, everyone that knows him is devastated,” Weiland wrote. “It is a terrible loss that goes beyond words. He is one of my best friends, a truest friend and one of the most gifted guitar players that I’ve ever known. A true genius. It’s impossible to explain how much he will be missed and what a hole this will leave in our hearts. A post on Facebook feels so trite and small compared to the love that I have for him and for the talent that has passed on but I felt it was necessary to at least start here. Please keep his family in your thoughts.”

Weiland met Brown in 2008 during the recording of Happy in Galoshes and they have worked together ever since. Brown was key in writing riffs for many of the Wildabouts songs and his guitar playing was a powerful voice in the band’s sound.

Led Zeppelin‘s interactive new video for “Brandy & Coke” – the rough mix of “Trampled Under Foot” that appeared on last month’s deluxe Physical Graffiti reissue – allows users to peer into windows in the building on the original cover. When the record originally came out, it showed two conjoined buildings from Manhattan’s East Village with die-cut windows, so the inner sleeves could either show the band’s name and album title or clip-art-style vignettes. The new clip takes it one step further.

After pressing play, a user can click on a window and use their keyboard arrows to peer into different windows on the album cover as the song plays. Some feature people singing along; others show scenes like a woman taking a shower in her underwear, a movie theater playing the song’s lyrics and a little boy rocking out in his messy bedroom. One room shows video of the band performing “Trampled Under Foot” at Earl’s Court in the mid-Seventies.

The Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson will hit the Road this Summer ‘The End Times’

Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson will be spreading Nineties angst and nostalgia across the United States this summer when they embark on their co-headlining tour dubbed, The End Times.

The 23-date trek kicks off July 7th at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California and concludes August 8th at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tickets will go on sale April 3rd, while more information will be made available on the Pumpkins‘ and Manson’s respective websites. A full list of tour dates is below by clicking the link.

After two weeks and six rounds of voting, the GIN BLOSSOMS came out on top. They beat out the SPICE GIRLS in the finals by taking 58% of the vote. Just like in the NCAA tournament, they started with a field of 64.

Joining the Gin Blossoms and the Spice Girls in the “Elite Eight” were: The Smashing Pumpkins, Hootie and the Blowfish, Stone Temple Pilots, Boyz II Men, TLC, and ‘N Sync.

Boyz II Men beat out TLC to get into the Final Four . . . Hootie took out STP . . . ‘N Sync ran into the Spice Girls . . . and the Gin Blossoms took out the Pumpkins.

The seeding was a little rough, because some deserving groups couldn’t even get out of the first round. Those included: Live, Bush, and Soul Asylum. For what it’s worth, the Gin Blossoms had a #1 seed.

Music News March 30th

The Guy Who Did “Spirit in the Sky” Was Critically Injured in a Car Crash

72-year-old Norman Greenbaum wrote and recorded “Spirit in the Sky“ in 1969, and on Saturday afternoon, he was badly injured in a car accident.

It happened in Northern California . . . Norman was the passenger in a car that turned left in front of a motorcycle, and the guy on the bike was killed. His passenger was critically injured too.

The guy driving Norman’s car wasn’t hurt. It’s unclear who was at fault, but the investigation is on going.

Listen to a Song from Ben Stiller’s ’80s Garage Band

Back in the early ’80s, BEN STILLER played drums in a garage band called CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. They self-released one album called “Roadkill” in 1982, and it was quickly forgotten. Until now.

It’s being re-released next fall by a label called Captured Tracks. There’s no word on an official release date. But they put a song called “Confusion“ on YouTube. It’s a little weird. Ben says they were listening to a lot of BRIAN ENO at the time.

Loudwire.com has a list of the best songs about imaginary creatures, and not surprisingly JUDAS PRIEST is #1.

They gave it to “The Sentinel” . . . but since pretty much ALL of Judas Priest’s songs are about imaginary creatures, they also mentioned “Nightcrawler”, “Jugulator”, “Green Manalishi”, “Sinner”, “Exciter”, “Painkiller”, “Lochness”, “Invader”, “Grinder”, “Starbreaker”, “Demonizer”, and “Hellrider”.

Here’s the Top Five:

1. “The Sentinel”, Judas Priest

2. “Iron Man”, Black Sabbath

3. “Orgasmatron”, Motorhead

4. “The Thing That Should Not Be”, Metallica

5. “Godzilla”, Blue Oyster Cult

(The list is actually a Top 10, but it gets a little more obscure after these. Check out the whole thing, with brief write-ups on each, here.)

Today in Rock History and Celeb Birthdays!

Norah Jones is 36

Celine Dion is 47

Tracy Chapman is 51

MC Hammer is 53

Eric Clapton is 70 Only person inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of FameTHREE times . . . once solo, once with the Yardbirds, and once with Cream.

Graeme Edge is 74. Drummer for the Moody Blues

Not music but famous artist Vincent Van Gogh was born today in 1853 and passed in 1890.